


the moon is just a fancy rock

by krystian



Series: Spectacular Nights [2]
Category: Final Fantasy XV
Genre: A little, Anger Directed at Inanimate Objects, Attempt at Humor, Blood, Brotherhood: Final Fantasy XV, Crack Treated Seriously, Friendship, Gen, Noctis is losing it, Poor Noctis Lucis Caelum, Sleep Deprivation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-05
Updated: 2020-08-05
Packaged: 2021-03-05 20:34:32
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,365
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25731430
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krystian/pseuds/krystian
Summary: In which Noctis gets angry at the moon.Because the moon always is at fault.
Series: Spectacular Nights [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1866481
Comments: 3
Kudos: 13





	the moon is just a fancy rock

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Amburrito](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Amburrito/gifts).



> the long awaited sequel that's actually a prequel
> 
> thanks for enabling me, it really brings out the worst in me
> 
> ok but real talk y'all. You know this picture that's just like:  
> "The Romans, they call me Luna,  
> the Greek, they call me Celina,  
> and the Ancient Egyptians, they call me Isis,
> 
> but my mate Jeff, he calls me Floating White Piece of Shit."
> 
> Because this is what this is. this is it.

He was 15 when the weird dreams started.

At first they weren’t any more unusual than the other dreams he used to have – the ones of daemons and rumbling voices and blinding blue light.

But now, these… _these_ dreams were different than all the others. Almost every night he would draw the curtains shut only to awaken with a start a few hours later, to opened curtains and silvery light that decorated his room in the Citadel like glittering tinsel or silky cobwebs.

Noctis would get up and his feet would feel warm against the wooden floor as he crept through his room, always careful to not alert the guards stationed in front of his room.

They had seemed so normal at first. He was in a completely mundane day-to-day situation; training with Gladio, watching Ignis cook, playing games with Prompto, sometimes even being in school, but something _always_ shifted. More often than not it was nothing more than a miniscule detail. A silver spoon that was rusty, an item that suddenly was a different colour, a slight change in location.

Noctis would, without doubt, pick up on it every time.

He was 16 now _(almost an adult),_ and the thought of being allowed to move into his own apartment was always on his mind, the only thing keeping him sane _(aside from his friends and his dad, of course)_. Maybe the weird dreams would stop then, if he was shielded from the menacing eyes of the moon that loomed over Insomnia every night.

Only a few more months, he kept telling himself, only a few more months until all of this would stop and he could pull daily all-nighters with Prompto.

But until then, well, he’d have to live with the dreams.

And tonight wasn’t any different.

Noctis groaned, draping one arm over his eyes so he wouldn’t have to look at the miserably bright night. He knew it was night – it always was, after all. Multiple doctors had prescribed him sleeping pills, he’d tried all forms of hypnosis, meditation, calming tea and hot milk with honey, but everything was a lost cause on him.

He was just so _tired._

Noctis got up, trying to clear his bleary eyes, and stumbled towards the open window. The small figurine of Carbuncle he kept on his nightstand reflected the light in an odd way, throwing small prisms of colour on the walls.

The night itself was dark, it always was, but the moon, the godsdamned moon _never_ failed to make an appearance.

Noctis scowled, standing in front of the window and looking at the city that lay to his feet, bowing before him. Above it hung the moon in all its glory, seemingly mocking him.

It always did, didn’t it?

The moon had never favoured him. He knew that now.

Noctis raised his fist, waving it towards the moon as if that would do anything. “What are you looking at, you stupid space egg?” he yelled at it, anger desperately clinging to his words. “You have no right to laugh at me! Fuck off, you floating white piece of shit!”

Above his own din, he could barely hear the door opening and someone stepping into the room with him. “Noct?” Gladio’s rough voice came through to him, heavy with sleep. “What the actual fuck are you doing? Go back to bed.”

He whirled around, wildly staring at Gladio. “What? No, have you seen the way it looks at me? It wants to brawl.” He pushed the sleeves of his nightshirt up, swinging one leg through his window when Gladio grabbed his waist, dragging him back.

“What the hell do you think you’re doing?” his Shield yelled at him, half-dragging, half-carrying him to his bed as Noctis wriggled around in his grip.

“Let go, Gladio! I’m settling this once and for all!” He bit into Gladio’s arm, hard, and Gladio yowled loudly before basically throwing Noctis onto his bed, closing his fingers around Noctis’ slender wrists and pinning him down.

“Dunno what’s up with you, but you’re going nowhere, princess,” Gladio grunted, dodging when Noctis attempted to kick him in the ribs. “C’mon, either you’re going right back to sleep or I will have to knock you out. It’s your decision.” 

Noctis cursed under his breath, letting himself go boneless under Gladio’s vice-like grip that threatened to crush him otherwise. “Alright, alright. I concede defeat.”

He rolled onto his side, facing away from Gladio, and drawing his blankets up to his chin to shield himself from the cold light of the moon.

Gladio sighed from somewhere behind him, and the bed dipped down when he shifted his weight. His warm hand rested on Noctis’ shoulder, a comforting presence in the Unknown that surrounded him. “D’ya want me to stay?” he asked after a few beats of silence, his tone hesitant.

Instead of answering him, one of Noctis’ hands shot up from under the blanket, tugging on Gladio’s arm until his chest was pressed against Noctis’ back and he could feel that familiar, calm heartbeat, until Gladio’s warmth seeped into Noctis’ frozen mind. “Stay,” he commanded with as much authority as he could muster at the moment.

Gladio obliged.

No dreams dared to haunt him in that night.

* * *

How he’d managed to convince everyone to let Prompto stay over still was a miracle to him.

Not that he minded, of course.

Sneaking around the Citadel after dawn, when the corridors were dark and only guards patrolled the area was simply too much fun to pass it up. As was stealing from the kitchen when the cooks were busy. Or spying on important people when they thought no one was looking.

Noctis stealthily rolled behind a stone pillar as another guard turned into the hallway they’d just been walking in, slapping his hand over Prompto’s mouth to stifle the giggle that was threatening to reveal their presence.

He shushed him quietly and together they waited until the man had passed by them before they left their spot and used the shadows that the night provided to hurry past the rooms that littered the corridor on either side.

Grabbing Prompto’s hand, he opened one of the glass doors that led to the garden, motioning for his friend to follow him into the well-groomed thicket. Prompto shortly stopped by a small pond that was inhabited by one larger koi and several small goldfish, but Noctis simply tugged at his hand and then inclined his head.

Prompto understood. He always did.

They ducked slightly, avoiding the lanterns and lights that could expose them, and ran towards the glass railing that separated the outside world from the Citadel. The terrace offered a great view over Insomnia; or rather over Insomnia’s richer residential districts. One had to pay a lot to live this close to the Citadel, Noctis mused, letting his eyes wander over the brightly lit city and then towards-

Towards the moon, a beacon in the otherwise dark night sky, ablaze with cold fire that only Noctis could see. It looked a little hazy through the Wall, as if someone had put tinted glass above it.

He sighed, leaning against the railing, and watched it with narrowed eyes.

“What’s wrong?” Prompto whispered, seemingly confused.

“’s nothing,” Noctis deflected half-heartedly, averting his eyes. “Just the moon.”

Prompto cocked his head to one side. “Why, what’s wrong with it?”

“Dunno.” Noctis paused. Shrugged. “It just seems weird to me, that’s all.” His gaze fell on the pebbles to his feet.

Prompto hummed, apparently not satisfied with the answer. “If you say so…” He slightly shuddered in the cool breeze that swept through the open garden, hugging himself. “Hey, not to be a spoilsport, but can we go back into your room? It’s kinda cold out here.” He shot him a sheepish smile that Noctis reciprocated.

“Sure,” he agreed, but stopped in his tracks when he wanted to turn around. “On second thought… You know the way back, right?”

Prompto nodded.

“Great. D’you wanna go on ahead? I’ll be right behind you, just gotta check something real quick.”

Chewing on his lower lip, Prompto shot him a wary look. “I don’t know, Noct… That doesn’t seem like such a good idea.”

“It’ll be fine.” Noctis tried his most convincing smile that he only really used to sweet-talk politicians and the like. It always worked. “I won’t take long, promise.”

Prompto relented, shuffling out of the garden, only looking back once.

Noctis waved at him, and then his friend was gone.

He turned back to the moon. “Now it’s just you and me, buddy,” he said, glaring at it with all the fervour he could muster in his tired state.

The moon said nothing.

Shaking his head, Noctis bent down and picked up a few pebbles, rolling them over in his hand, feeling their smooth surfaces gliding over his skin. It figured that even the rocks in this damned place would be perfect.

“You got nothing on me, pal,” he snarled at the moon, squinting one eye and aiming with his right hand. The pebble traced a perfect arc, landing somewhere in the darkness below him.

One stone followed the other, all of them completely missing their target only to be swallowed by the void that surrounded him. “What do you want, huh? What the fuck is your problem?”

The moon didn’t answer.

Did it ever?

Anger overcame him, set his insides ablaze, and he picked up another rock and threw it at the moon with all the strength he had, tightly gripping the railing afterwards until his fingers hurt.

“Why don’t you say something?” he screamed at it, gritting his teeth. “Why am I the only one talking!”

He hit the railing with the flat of his hand, biting down on his lower lip and letting the small drops of blood fall down until they created patterns on the ground.

Noctis suppressed a scream of pure resentment. He was better than this, wasn’t he? Trying to make himself look presentable he wiped the blood from his mouth and flattened his hair.

Prompto was smiling at him when he entered the room, unaware of anything that had happened.

He slept well that night, curled up around Prompto, and only awoke in the morning to the other drooling on his face.

* * *

Noctis knew that there were dark bags beneath his eyes, that his face was a sickly shade of white, only emphasized by his black clothing. 

He also knew that Ignis knew that something was up, although his advisor was far too polite to ever talk about it in public.

But the truth was, he was feeling a lot better now. Ever since he had moved into his own apartment, away from the Crystal that drained both his father and himself, the nightmares had just… stopped, except maybe the occasional math-test-nightmare in which he always seemed to forget his pants. Sure, throwing stones had actually been somewhat relaxing _(although he had taken to buying fake rocks the last few months that wouldn’t hurt anyone should he accidentally hit someone when tossing them into the literal dark),_ but not having to rely on such crude methods was freeing.

Well, he sometimes still threw stones from his balcony, but only when he was really stressed. It simply was too much fun, and old habits did die hard, after all.

Lost in his thoughts like that, he hadn’t noticed that Ignis had been trying to grab his attention for quite some time now. “Your Highness?” Ignis asked again, scanning Noctis’ face.

Noctis hummed. “What did you say, Specs? Sorry, wasn’t listening.” He yawned into his hand.

Ignis sighed, pushing his glasses up on his nose. “I’ve noticed that. As I was saying, in the report that I left at your apartment yesterday-“

Ignis’ voice was cut off by a deeper one, somehow familiar but only ever so slightly. 

“Lord Scientia? How good that I’m meeting you here, I’ve been looking everywhere for you!” The man – some high-ranking old guy most likely, maybe even one of the council members – seemed overjoyed at having found Ignis. “Have you read the report that I left on your table?”

Noctis snorted, although neither of them paid him any attention.

Massaging his temples, Ignis glared at the man. “Why yes, of course. And I have already told you that the problem you mentioned is not in my area of competence. If you’ll excuse us now.” He turned away to leave, beckoning Noctis to follow him, but the old man wasn’t done with them.

“Well, who am I supposed to ask, then? It’s quite a tenacious problem we’re having, and I mean all of us are affected, what with our gardens being destroyed and all!”

“I can only repeat myself,” Ignis replied slowly, his eyes full of fire. “If rocks are indeed suddenly appearing in your and your neighbours’ gardens, then you need to talk with someone in charge of the gardens. Not me.”

“But I’m telling you, the stones that appear there are the same ones as inside the Citadel’s gardens!” the old man insisted, his face assuming a red colour. Kind of like a cooked lobster. “I’ve checked it myself!” He fished a pebble out of his pocket, showing it to Ignis. “They ruin my wife’s flowers!”

“Now that’s just preposterous.” Ignis was basically fuming at this point, and – quite unlike himself – he grabbed Noctis’ wrist and dragged him away from the man. “If you’ll excuse us now, we have a meeting to attend. Have a pleasant day, sir.”

Noctis, who had watched the entire thing with a stoic expression while trying to hold his laughter back, finally let go, wiping at his eyes as the tears started to flow. “Sorry,” he rasped out between gasps.

Ignis stared at him, consternated. “Are you alright, Noct?” he asked with concern in his voice. He placed one hand on Noctis’ forehead, frowning. “You don’t seem to run a fever, but maybe you should still rest. Just to be safe”

Noctis pushed his hand away, still trying to control his breathing. “Really, I’m fine, Specs.”

Maybe constantly being angry at the moon wasn’t that bad, after all

**Author's Note:**

> im so sorry. i never want to see this again, not even to proofread it. i wrote this in one sitting, and to look at it at a different time would mean my death.


End file.
